[DMT]

We've been using our new FoodSaver machine a bit, and thought I'd post some pictures of how nicely it works.

Have you ever noticed how sometimes your refrigerator gets a little bit unorganized, due to too many packages of whatever covering up others??

We found that little problem with some bacon that had gone into hiding from one week to the next (we only cook "real" breakfast on the weekends) prompting a second package to be purchased and opened, while the first one just sat there behind the sliced pastrami, laughing its little piggy butt off...

But I digress...

Needed to consolidate the stuff, and opted to seal it up right...

SWAMBO wanted to experiment performing the entire process, from making her own bag, to the final seal-up.

First a bag was made that would be big enough to hold all the bacon, allowing for enough extra bag to remain after the first sealing, an opening and removal of some bacon for the next breakfast, and a second sealing of the remainder.

No problem....

Bag made, bacon installed, and ready to seal 'er up.



Open bag end/edge inserted into the machine and clamping motor starts its trick.



Vacuum complete, and sealing action going on (notice the red "seal" light glowing below the blue ones - which indicate vacuum level- on the upper right of the machine).



And viola, a finished package that will stay nice and fresh. (sorry about the shaky picture - i was just soooo excited...)



This sort of a machine would be especially handy for folks that purchase foods with no or minimal preservatives. The vacuum and sealing process removes most (if not all) of the oxygen from around the food product, and you can write purchase and opening dates on the bag for inventory management...

So far we are very happy with our machine, and the upright profile allows it to be kept out on the counter, ensuring that it doesn't get "forgotten", and thus used more often than if it had to be drug out of a cabinet or closet...

Next up is consolidating three open packages of hot dogs that the Mindless Eating Machine (college aged son - step on his foot and his mouth pops open) has scattered throughout the meat drawer in the fridge...

[MaryB]

I gave mine a workout yesterday sealing 24 bags of pulled pork. Only had one that had a bad seal and that was operator error (I was tired and forgot to wipe the grease off the bag first). Mine stays on the counter all the time. And it is great for buying bulk sugar, dried beans, rice, etc. I break it down into 1 pound bags. seal it, and store the extra in a 5 gallon bucket in my pantry.

[amazingrace]

For those who are not aware: The food saver does effectively pull air out of the package, and does extend the life of many foods. However, perishible food still needs to either be refrigerated (short term) or frozen for long term storage.
This is a wonderful product, though. I live 40 miles from a grocery store, so when I shop, I buy in bulk. Then, at home I break it all down into managable size packages. Dried foods such as pasta, rice & beans are neatly vacuum sealed, with no possiblility of weavils or moth infestation. And the shelf life is extended. I also use it for nut meats before putting them in the freezer.
The model in the photo is lovely. I love that it stands up so nicely. Mine is older, without that nice feature, but as long as it works well, I can live with it.

[DMT]

I suppose that I should have been more strident in cautioning that any food that requires refrigeration or other specific food handling procedures *still* demands the same treatment after the "suck-'n-seal" process, but thought (possibly erroneously) that common sense would prevail. My mistake. Thanks for the food safety catch. It was a good one.

In short, for those that might be led to believe otherwise, the FoodSaver appliance does *NOT* eliminate the need for proper refrigeration or freezing of food products...

[DMT]

Picked up a 6.7 pound package of ground beef at the local Costco, knowing that I needed to separate it into one pound meal sized packages, and this was a "beta test" of how we could safely and economically do that.

Sorry that there aren't any "in process" photos taken. I didn't care to contaminate either the camera or food with "stuff"...

First I made up some bags from the 11" wide roll that were about 8" long. This puts them at about the same size as the 1 quart bags that FoodSaver sells "pre-made".

I also had some "pre-made" 1 quart bags that came with the unit that I decided to try and use up.

Note: After trying both bag configurations, the 11" wide, by 8" long make-em-yerself bags are easier to load (versus the 8" wide by 11" long pre-made 1 quart bags) with approximately one pound of ground beef, due to a larger open end that the wad of meat can be inserted through.

Did that make sense?? I hope so...

Anyway, the bags were made (sealing one end) and the big wad of meat was broken down into seven roughly equivalent portions. (after this exercise, i went out and purchased [and returned] a digital kitchen scale - more on that later)

Given the propensity of the FoodSaver appliance to suck out any liquids within the bag, I elected to place the portions of ground beef into the bags, then place these bags in the freezer for a couple of hours, simply to allow the meat juices to achieve a more "solid state".

It worked wonderfully. Just like they (the manufacturer) said it would...

No need for an absorbant barrier at the top of the bag (although I did see a minor amount of liquid migration), and a quick wipe with a clean paper towel on the inside of the sealing area surfaces prior to activating the suck-'N-seal ensured that no food matter interfered with the sealing process.

Even though we'll be using a good portion of the total amount of beef in the next week or so, from the looks of things after 10 hours in the freezer, the meat should be as "fresh" as the minute it went in.



We are pretty well impressed with the capabilities of this machine, and do not hesitate to recommend it for use in your home.

As a disclaimer, I have no affiliation nor financial connection with the manufacturer, distributors, wholesalers or retailers of this product. I just think it's a great tool for the kitchen...

[MaryB]

For soups I use a canning funnel to keep the bag edges clean. Stand the bags up in a container, freeze, then vacuum seal. Works well but don't let the bags wrinkle or they may freeze together.